jfbball77 Posted May 9, 2012 Report Posted May 9, 2012 First time posting, but have been reading for a while. I was looking for a 4* Inner Harbor Baltimore Hotel for this weekend. Ideally I'd like a pool for my daughter, priceline shows 4/5 of the options have a pool so I guess I'll roll the dice. I started at $45 opening bid and rebid through all the zones up till $85 with no bids accepted. Any tips or ideas on what price I may have to go up to to get it accepted. Location is the most important to me, we really want to be in the inner harbor. I'd like to stay at the 4* level, but would be willing to go 3.5 if there was anyway I could guarantee a pool (pretty sure there isn't)...any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
thereuare Posted May 9, 2012 Report Posted May 9, 2012 Welcome to BetterBidding! Please start by reading your messages and clicking each of these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links... then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your post above. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jfbball77 Posted May 9, 2012 Author Report Posted May 9, 2012 Thanks for the reply, I did as instructed. Best price through that link was $133 for a 4 star hotel on hotwire so hopefully I can beat that through priceline. Any tips or ideas? Thanks.
thereuare Posted May 9, 2012 Report Posted May 9, 2012 Location is the most important to me, we really want to be in the inner harbor. I'd like to stay at the 4* level, but would be willing to go 3.5 if there was anyway I could guarantee a pool (pretty sure there isn't)...any advice would be appreciated, thanks!You'll need to make some choices based upon what is most important to you for this stay...You can't bid on a specific hotel, location, or amenties when using PRICELINE, you have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose. With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to what is being offered based upon the amenities associated with the property, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel you're hoping for.Currently on HOTWIRE what i believe to be the Sheraton City Center (not to be confused with the Sheraton Inner Harbor) is offered for ~$85/nite... it has a Pool but not sure if the location is 'directly in the Inner Harbor' close enough for you.What appears to be the 4 star Monaco is offered for $130/nite, no pool and you check the location, but this property gets GREAT reviews.... or you can 'roll the dice' and save a likely save a little money with PRICELINE, but have no guess as to the location within the zone OR if there will be a pool.Also, as you mention location is important for this trip, you can use our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com to search for the area and see which hotels are closest to the exact location you want and determine how much more/less it will cost to stay closer/further away or go up/down in star rating. As well, if you see the hotels mentioned above in the hotel list on the left side of the page, you can click on them to have the map center on that property.Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jfbball77 Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Posted May 10, 2012 Just looking to stay 1 night, Saturday May 12-13.Thanks for the advice, I guess we'd be OK with anything within 6 blocks of the Aquarium. Not a huge fan of Sheraton and would rather pay a little more for something else. Do you think that whatever the winning bid is for a 4* on priceline for the inner harbor area would be the Monaco hotel as it seems to be the lowest price of that category? It looks like a really nice hotel so we may have to settle for it, but ideally would like any of the other 4*'s with a pool. What do you think? Also will things get cheaper if I wait to rebid till Friday or just bid now starting at my last rejected of $85?
Romelle Posted May 10, 2012 Report Posted May 10, 2012 The lowest price hotel in a category is not necessarily the probable win. It is much more random than that.There is a good discussion of bid timing up in the PRICELINE FAQ, but the short answer is that one really never knows. If you wait, somebody else may snap up the rooms the hotel has given to the Priceline inventory. Prices can go both down and up. If I were bidding, I don't think I'd wait. You only have 2 days left.Romelle
thereuare Posted May 10, 2012 Report Posted May 10, 2012 It looks like a really nice hotel so we may have to settle for it, but ideally would like any of the other 4*'s with a pool.As per above if you bid on PRICELINE you won't necessarily receive the Monaco... you could get any 4* rated hotel in the zone, it could be closer/further to the Inner Harbor, it may or may not have a Pool, and it may not be as well reviewed.Also will things get cheaper if I wait to rebid till Friday or just bid now starting at my last rejected of $85?I would think that prices are pretty much set... two days before arrival hotels can't really effect demand that much by lowering prices (most people who have to travel already have their plans in place, hard to get the word out of a great rate in order to spur extra demand, hotels prefer to keep last minute prices high in order to get the most revenue from 'walk-in' customers who are less likely to walk out due to price, etc). If you let us know your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jfbball77 Posted May 11, 2012 Author Report Posted May 11, 2012 Ended up bidding just now and won Baltimore Marriott Waterfront 4 star for $90, really happy to get it at that price and it has a pool!
thereuare Posted May 11, 2012 Report Posted May 11, 2012 Congratulations on your success! Glad to see this work out so well... the location and amenities you wanted!Thank you for sharing your win with the board. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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